Chapter 70

“What does this woman want to do?”

Although Ivyst always liked to start things off with a bang, after spending some quality time together recently, Lynn gradually caught on.

So the moment he heard her speak, he was always ready to activate the Liars’ Devourer.

A long-lost sense of awkwardness washed over him, and Lynn slipped back into that peculiar out-of-body experience.

“.”

As he stared blankly at the raven-masked boy, a flicker of complexity crossed Ivyst’s eyes, and she remained silent for quite a while.

After a moment, she suddenly stood up, slowly leaned in closer to Lynn, and gently removed the mask from his face.

The boy’s handsome features were now in plain sight.

Feeling their proximity, Lynn’s heart skipped a beat.

This woman… what is she doing? At that moment, Ivyst’s sweet, musk-like breath lightly wafted over him, causing his mind to wander.

Yet, she seemed totally oblivious to it.

Or maybe she thought that because he was in a hypnotic state, she wouldn’t be caught.

But poor Lynn was really suffering.

After getting a fleeting glimpse of the snow-white valley beneath Ivyst’s collar, he almost lost his grip on the Liars’ Devourer disguise.

Not only that, but Lynn suddenly got this weird notion.

Doesn’t it feel like she’s about to kiss him? Lynn thought blankly.

But he knew better; that was impossible.

And in reality, that was indeed the case.

Ivyst only seemed interested in examining Lynn closely, her crimson gaze fixed on his face.

Outside of that, she made no further moves.

It was as if she was getting to know Lynn Bartleon all over again.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally finished her rather long “interrogation” and returned to her seat across from him.

Ivyst sighed softly, casually taking off her mask to reveal her delicate features, looking out the window.

What met her gaze was the relatively bustling night scene of Orlen City, yet she had no intention of appreciating it.

“First question,” Ivyst said, her voice barely rising above the gentle bump of the carriage, “what were you thinking when you helped me out earlier?”

I was thinking about how to prevent you from getting everyone killed.

Lynn scoffed internally.

But of course, he couldn’t say that.

Suddenly, he realized something.

Everything that happened tonight had been so tumultuous, far beyond anyone’s expectations—even Ivyst herself couldn’t have predicted it.

As such, his perfect handling of the sudden situation likely left a strong impression in her mind.

This impression was utterly different from the earlier situation when he forced Ivyst to confront her true self through threats.

This was a pure, positive impression.

To put it simply, in the galgame scenario, Lynn had made all the right choices, boosting Ivyst’s favorability just a notch.

Though he didn’t know how much exactly, it was undoubtedly an unprecedented improvement.

This time, it wasn’t like his earlier obsequious flattery or deceit behind hypnosis.

This was a genuine act of rescue made by Lynn’s own will.

Ivyst seemed to pick up on his sentiment as well.

With that thought in mind, Lynn had an idea.

“I was thinking it would be great to just kill all those disrespectful folks in the room,” he said with a dazed look, “but I couldn’t do that. Seeing you isolated and helpless was unbearable, so I had to find my own way to assist you.”

At that moment, Lynn had clearly forgotten his previous conversation with Greya.

He needed to seize this rare opportunity to boost his favorability score and make her let her guard down in the coming days!

“That’s it?”

Ivyst asked again.

“I also thought you looked quite pitiful at that moment.”

Lynn’s response was rather bold.

However, Ivyst merely paused in surprise and didn’t blow up at him.

After a moment of silence, she replied nonchalantly, “You’ve got some guts. Don’t let it happen again.”

“Understood.”

For some reason, at that moment, Lynn sensed a hint of world-weariness coming from Ivyst.

He wondered what Duke Tilius had said to her earlier.

“Second question,” Ivyst pressed on without giving him time to think, “after firing the gun, were you scared facing the pressure from Uncle Tilius?”

“Terrified,” he admitted.

“Then why did you still pull the trigger?”

“You once said that without your permission, I can’t die, and at that moment, I was absolutely sure I heard no ‘go die’ command from you. So I knew no matter what I did, I wouldn’t die.”

“Because you didn’t give me permission, I would never die.”

“Even if Duke Tilius himself came after me, it would be the same.”

His tone was somewhat dull, but his words were sincere.

So sincere that Ivyst paused, caught in an unspeakable silence.

She hadn’t expected this guy would make such reckless moves just because of one of her previous commands.

“.Last question.” After a long silence, she spoke again, “It seems you never care about what others think?”

“Absolutely not.”

“How do you manage that?”

Ivyst asked softly.

At that moment, she recalled the words spoken by Duke Tilius in his study earlier.

Those who are led by their emotions can never become qualified leaders.

Though Ivyst didn’t feel she had anything to correct, she still tucked that phrase away in her mind.

Upon reflection, this guy in front of her seemed to be a living testament to that idea.

Through all their interactions, aside from that baffling suicide attempt that night, he had consistently exuded a calm demeanor ingrained in his very being.

No matter the situation, nothing seemed capable of provoking extreme emotional shifts or clouding his judgment.

Perhaps, that was why he could perfectly resolve all matters at hand.

So Ivyst really wanted to hear his answer.

“When the mirror is dirty, we don’t think our face is dirty.” Lynn began slowly, “So when faced with others’ ridicule and malice, why should we think that it’s our personal issue?”

To put it simply, if a thousand people doubt me, then that thousand are just idiots.

This was Lynn’s philosophy on life.

A flicker of astonishment appeared in Ivyst’s eyes.

After a moment, she came back to her senses and cracked a slight smile.

“Now that’s truly your style.”

Once she uttered that, she turned her gaze back to the window.

The shadows of buildings and the lights along the road danced back and forth in the carriage as the wheels zoomed past.

Everything around them felt eerily quiet.

Even with Lynn’s Liars’ Devourer, he couldn’t shake off the unease.

This woman, how about saying something?

He thought quietly.

And that thought quickly became reality.

Staring out at the swiftly passing scenery, Ivyst seemed to have drifted into some train of thought.

“Thank you.”

She suddenly said without any pretext.

?

For a brief moment, Lynn thought he was hearing things.

But soon he realized it wasn’t a mirage; it was indeed happening right before his eyes.

Gazing at his reflection in the carriage window, Ivyst’s pink lips parted slightly,

As if she wanted to say something more.

But in the end, she couldn’t get the words out.

Ultimately, those complicated, excruciatingly awkward thoughts materialized as the simplest words.

“.Anyway, thank you.”